Monday, April 27, 2009

Delhi Mentoring Session

Kamini Auditorium, one of Delhi’s finest auditoriums generally used for theatre and music came alive this time with a session designed to inspire young aspiring entrepreneurs.

The scorching Delhi heat didn’t deter the participants and even before the registration desks opened there were more than 400 excited faces abuzz in the auditorium’s lobby. Soon everyone was herded into the cool comfort of the auditorium and a relay of advertisements on the ‘Power of Ideas’ looped impatiently.

The mentoring session began with the introduction of the esteemed panel of investors from the Indian Angel Network who shared their experiences, learnings and success stories with a rather enthusiastic and knowledgeable audience.

Mr. Pradeep Gupta of the Indian Angel Network began the session by answering a vital question regarding ‘start ups’ in a potentially volatile economy. “At times like these, there is a need to be innovative since there are no free rides anymore.” He also stated that, “The quality of ideas get better during an economic downturn because everyone is trying to get a piece of a shrinking pie. And the customer is also more critical of products and services.”

Talking about what happens if a start up fails to receive money, Mr. Sanjeev B. states that, “It’s not good to assume that success depends entirely on external funding. There are a lot of very successful companies that started out without any of that.” He goes on to state that, “Getting funds is just one of the battles won in creating a successful business.”

“So what makes a good business plan?” Ms. Anupama Arya wittily summed up what seemed to be a long explanation in a few words, “If you can manage to get a customer to pay you, you’re on the right track.”.

Mr. Pradeep Gupta went on to talk about the mistakes people make and how the lack of passion is potentially one of the biggest reasons for a failed business model. Adding to that, Mr. Sanjay Bhasin emphasises on the importance of having a scalable business idea, since ideas needs to grow and mustn’t stagnate.”

After the first round of discussions, Ms. Padwaja introduces the ‘Elevator Pitch’ and facilitates the discussion onwards. The rustling of the print-outs of the ‘Elevator Pitch’ take prominence as the eager audience tries to grasp this bounty of knowledge. Mr. Aseem Chauhan emphasises that one doesn’t need to force fit their idea into the elevator plan. He says, “It’s OK to modify the plan to fit your idea.”

The session was soon made open to the house and audience questions began pouring in.

Mr. Sunil Kalra states the importance of the ‘first’ pitch. He says, “For the first pitch YOU only need to give us YOUR idea and tell us who YOU are and what your team is.”

Another question that was raised was, how does one figure out when to go for Angel funding and when to go for VC funding? To which, Mr. Sanjeev B. stated that Angels generally come in at an earlier stage and will invest far lower sums of money than a VC would. One should aim to raise VC money at a much later stage.

The final few questions discussed the importance of timing and luck and how apart from funding, persistence and the belief in an idea would eventually determine the success of a business plan.

1 comment:

Actually , every business plan competition , or presentation , like power of ideas , the eureka , the intaglio , the IIPC , everywhere you go , one thing is common dont expect to be funded , if you are an innovative company , then there is a very few , or 0% chances of getting funded , because the Indian Investors , the Venture Capitalists , the Angel Investors are not the ones those who exist in Silicon Valley and those who have funded companies like Microsoft , Google etc.The good thing about this contest is they are trying to create a similar kind of ecosystem which exists in US , Europe , but until and unless as VC firms come forward to address the real issues of Indian Entrepreneurs , nothing is possible here ….I had attended a numerous business plan contests in India , for hellodoctor , one thing I got from that is some certificates , some feel good discussions, some networking but its of no use to me presently , no serious investors , investors talking about millions of dollar investment but buddy we are a start up we dont need this , the real issues what an Indian Entrepreneur is facing is not addressed , the same way you have to fignt , you have to get self funded , take calculated risk , like thatOne thing I will like to say that these Bplan Competition can sharpen your brains , make your business plan papers more effective , but for startup forget anything from these competitions , you have to depend on your own resources , own will , you have to fight the monsters inside your brain , and outside too … If you want to be an entrepreneur take the first calculated risk first , you are not a millionaire , you are there to make millions … If you dont have confidence on your own plan , and you are thinking If you are putting your own hard earned money then forget to get any investors ..

Ticking On Twitter

Twitter Updates

The Power Of Ideas

The Power Of Ideas is an Economic Times initiative to encourage anyone with an idea, to realize their entrepreneurial dreams. Ideas submitted are ensured confidentiality and will remain the Intellectual Property of the participant.

Here, we blog about all things innovative and entrepreneurial, tracing dreams as well as travails in equal measure, and bring you stories and resources to celebrate India's entrepreneurial spirit.

Any story or feedback you might want to share with us, mail us at etpoi (at) indiatimes (dot) com.